Jim Gerlach Makes a Seriously Awkward Comparison

On Tuesday, the presumptive GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan (Wis.) galloped into Pennsylvania waving the flag and stumping the good stump.

While Ryan labeled himself a good “Catholic deer hunter,” Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Gerlach (R) compared the House Budget Committee chairman with the decidedly liberal, anti-gun fictional President Andrew Shepherd from the 1995 film, “The American President.”

“I think what Gov. Romney’s selection [of Ryan] really means is that he is serious about turning this economy around. He’s serious about dealing with the long-term national debt. He’s serious about reforming Medicare so it’s there for future generations. And he is also very serious about having a vice president who is going to be a substantive partner and adviser in issues of importance to our nation,” Gerlach told the the crowd. “Now, of course, we know that Democrats are trying to portray Paul Ryan as the guy who pushes Granny off the cliff with her wheelchair, but you know you might remember the 1995 film “The American President” starring Michael Douglas, who served in the role of President Andrew Shepherd and throughout the movie he was running for re-election against a Senator named Bob Rumson.

“[At] the end of that movie,” Gerlach continued. “The president had a press conference in the White House and he turned to the whole press corps and said: ‘This is a time for serious candidates and Bob Rumson your time is up.’ … Guess what? Mr. President [Obama], this is a time for serious candidates and your time is up!”

Don’t let the rousing speech fool you. Gerlach’s interpretation of this speech is confusing at best and not simply because the film, which written by Aaron Sorkin, is about an uber-liberal presidential widower falling in love with a liberal environmental lobbyist played by Annette Bening. Rumson, Shepherd’s opponent and the movie’s villain, is the stereotypical conservative who drapes himself in guns and freedom and America.

Here is the actual speech from the film:

“For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I’ve been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being president of this country is entirely about character.

“For the record, yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU, but the important question is, why aren’t you, Bob? Now this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: why would a Senator, his party’s most powerful spokesman and a candidate for president, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? Now if you can answer that question, folks, then you’re smarter than I am, because I didn’t understand it myself until a few hours ago. America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ’cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say ‘You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can’t just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest.’ Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the ‘land of the free’.

“I’ve known Bob Rumson for years, and I’ve been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn’t get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob’s problem isn’t that he doesn’t get it. Bob’s problem is that he can’t sell it!

“We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious people to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who’s to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and character. And wave an old photo of the president’s girlfriend and you scream about patriotism and you tell them, she’s to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore. Sydney Ellen Wade has done nothing to you, Bob. She has done nothing but put herself through school, represent the interests of public school teachers, and lobby for the safety of our natural resources. You want a character debate, Bob? You better stick with me, ’cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out of your league. [pauses]

“I’ve loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer, and I lost the other ’cause I was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job. Well, that ends right now.

“Tomorrow morning, the White House is sending a bill to Congress for its consideration. It’s White House Resolution 455, an energy bill requiring a 20 percent reduction of the emission of fossil fuels over the next 10 years. It is by far the most aggressive stride ever taken in the fight to reverse the effects of global warming. The other piece of legislation is the crime bill. As of today, it no longer exists. I’m throwing it out. I’m throwing it out and I’m writing a law that makes sense. You cannot address crime prevention without getting rid of assault weapons and handguns. I consider them a threat to national security, and I will go door to door if I have to, but I’m gonna convince Americans that I’m right, and I’m gonna get the guns. We’ve got serious problems, and we need serious people, and if you want to talk about character, Bob, you’d better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I’ll show up.

“This is a time for serious people, Bob, and your 15 minutes are up. My name’s Andrew Shepherd AND I AM THE PRESIDENT!”